NATIONALISMS IH SOUTH AFRICA..

MR. L. FORIM.

L. When we talk of the national question we sonotljBes inoorreotly poeetho problem as being one of the choioe between two different viewpoint*.

2#* On tha one hand you can soe the struggle for liberation as beingessentially a olasa struggle, with the proletariat of all national groups

fighting the capitalists of all national groups.

3# Or on the other hand you can have all the people of tho oppressednationality whatever their class, pitted agains^the dominant national

group as a whole ,

I dcn’ t think th^re w*fS\ be wivone hare who will not agree that for South Africa, neither approach is by itself completely correct - that the car-

H o t path to liberation is by means of joining togethor into one unity the* many forces opposed to the South African ruling class, of welding toge her

into one the struggle agairst oapitalisro and tho strugglo for national

liberation.

6 . It m a/ bo most fruitful to begin with the things on which we have

definite agreement, and to mere on to the things which are still doubtful - not because we disagree, but because wo have never got round really to

thrashing them out,

6 . We all agree thp.t basic to ovoiyrhing in South Africa is thocapitalist system. The pric^ry laws of the country are designed to assist the c a p i t a l i s t class in exploiting tho workBrfl.

7 v The c a p i t a l i s t exploitation is bueio and it is importont that

we always remember that. It ic sometimes 3aid that It is the "racialist

policies" of the Govommsr.'; which are basic* that is incorroot. r or proper understanding it is necessary to go behind the racialist policies to

the economic systom underlying them.

8, But at.tte sarae time, we will all agreo on the second point. Thatdistorting tho class strugglo in South Africa is the double yoke of

oppression* The vast majority of Africans face oppression not only as

proletarians, tho value of whose labour is stolon in profits, but also they suffer nati<xial oppression. Their lanruage rights are not-equal.

Schools are not provided for thorn* They are confined tc particular jobs.And the developmant of a potit-bou**gociBie and a bourgeoisie is hampered

and restricted. Nationality cuts across class in that thero are things the humblest wnite con do wh? c*i u k , TiChost Ai'rioan can’ t do.

t. The national oppression is designed to sorvo che ruling class in

two ways. First it is a me«.ns of onsuring cheap labour and limiting

conpetiti on.

10, And secondly, national oppres.slcn serves the capitalist ol"s£

for by bribing tho white workers, and by spreading the race lie, *h«y obscure the class stru^le and even win a section of whito workers us

allies.

But as is the ouse with everything the capitalist class touches, tha national oppression in tun. creates the oonditicr.s for the overthrow of

capitalism.

12 , In capitalist states v-hioh are not multi-national the ruling clase

relies cn the intellectuals and the peti^.-bourgeoisie as allies against

the people.

7

In South Afrioa, as a class of In toll actual ■ of the oppressed nationalities gtwi larger, and as a petit-bourgeoisie oones into being it ftndiit- aelf implacably opposed to the government for it is frustrated end cot bribed*

Together wit£ the* proletariat, these groups are strong opponents of the government, But the intelleotuale end the petit~bourgeoisie do not •ee the. class oppressor so dearly - they see mainly the national oppression,

15* So you have a proletariat aware both of olass and national oppression,the intelleotuals, petit-bourgeoisie and peaeflHTd' conoemed with national

oppression, (For to the peasant it is always jhe oppressing national group whioh is seen ooming to take his land orjhis oattle or his money*

16* Now comas the problem of the best way to ensure that these, snti-goremafflnt fcrcoe assfcizs ncct d f& itirely to fight and defeat the satire eccnouio system on whioh oppression is based - not only to defeat national oppression but also to defeat olass oppression*

17* So far we've dealt with things we've got to be in agreeirent withbefore we oan really understand eaoh other to argue further. But it

is the next stage that vre have to begin fueling our way a little*

I®* During the war there was a substantial body of opion whioh argueslike this*

V

The national liberr.tory movement is lead by the bourgeoisie and petit- bofergeoisie They are fighting for a bourgeoisie democratic revolution which we must supports When there has been '■uch a revolution it will then be

possible to talk in terma of a olaoi struggle and the achievement of solialism*

20, Developments since the war have gone a long way to show the falsityof thie approach* To a groat extent the direction of the national

liberatory struggle has been wrested from the hands of the bourgeoisie and more oenservative elements, and the leaders who understand the need for struggle against both national oppression and its imperialist economic roots' have come to the for©.

21* The process is far from complete. But the basis oertainly existsfor the national liberatcry movement to bo truly a people's movemant - one whioh will not allow a i^re transfer from national oppression to economic

oppression, as is the caso in Nehru' s India, "out vd.ll push forward to people's democracy, as in China,

P°r the most ad*r need elements to retain the support of the national liberatory struggle it*is necessary for them to bo, in faot, advanced. They must know before the evarrta, the direction in which matters are tending,

23* They must bo ablu to anticipate trends and popular demands, so thatthey may be completely identified 7.ith them influonoe them and speed them on.

This is only possiblo when the advanced elements pay particular attention to scientific theory*

24* If we rortd some of the Chinese theoretical writing we find againand again the great oaro v^lth whioh the leaders set about marking out and defining the different groups. Thrro are essays on "What is the Proletariat?"

"What is the .Middle peasantry, what i 3 the poor peasantry, what the landed gentry?" and so forth. The reason jo oiear, Gi” en a similar condition, the poor peasantry in cno part of China have much the same demands, will

react in much the same r;ay all over China, so that, onoe one really understood the problems arid demands of poor peasantry, and onoe one knew how to

identify which groups wore? part of that class, one had considerable assistance in one's analysis of likely developnonts*

’ In the same m y it is a6sam.ial for us to understand what in the

nature of the oppressed nationalities in South Africa,

26. V . Cb* possible answer i s t h a t thore is n o ^ n w d a n a l y s i s - that t h e r e i s n o national q u e s t i o n , only a p r c l e - a r i a n <fms . cn. ,x -

27. S«* this is an attractive formulation, but the fadfc is that exist strong liberator/ organisations based aa notionalorganisations aro not artificial but are based or. strong national feeling

among the people.

28. In how far is this really a national feeling? Certainly^the reaentaent of the ordinary African takes the form expressed by This country

belongs to the Africans and the White man has stolen it ,

29. But this feeling is not itself really a national feelinr unless it

has a far more oomplex basis.

30. A struggle for national liberation requires, if the wordirhivo any

meaning, ti»t an oppressed nation or national group is doing -he

struggling.

51. And if the people struggling are indeed natlpns, ttwn an impart of our policy must be thy denard that these nations have the right

to self-determination,

32. If they are not nations, and if they aro national £f»*P5» 1be nations, then in turn they have the right for the ocnditi'ons to be created by which they m y become nations with the right to ielf-do termination.

34

35

33, This Deans that it will boc«w part of w cr^g- o U ss pcUoy toguarantee to those nationalities which have not thear own territory that they ?ill bo given territory which they will be able to administer aut n -

ously, in whioh their own language will bo one of the official languages ar.

ir. which their national cultures may flourisn.

We know what a nation is . It is a stable community who have lived together for a long time in tho name territory, speak the sane language, h.

an internal economic bond and a common psychology and oulture.

Which of South Africa's, peoples are nations? I would not lito to say.

Possibly there are severnl communities in South Africa which, are full-fledged

nations.

36. But I think tho majority of communities whioh have common language and p s y c h o l o g y in South Africa are not full nailers, but national groups,

37. That is , I think they are aspirant nations, lacking thuir own territory and ocanonic oohesion, but aspiring to aohieve theeo,

38. What 1 am particularly interested in, is to hoaJ visws onSouth Africa's many cceanunities are nations an-i which ire netioual g t , for I think if wo knew this, we would go further towards a nation 1 p y*

I hope Mr. Hgwonya will give his Viewa on the Xosa people ^s a nation, and

that members of the audienoo will contribute on the knotty question of the

Coloured pooplo.

39Some people havo tended to bo a little shy of o p t i n g th e whole

discussion because they *-hink it reaotionary to t&lK, say, of giving the

Zulu people, Zululand,

40. Superfioially i t seems to run right across the -rain, Tho whole ofSouth Africa, and all i t a aities belong to all people, a n d Durban is as- uo

& oity of tho Zulu people as it is of anyone else. S u p e r f i o i a l l y , guarsntoe-

in? a people their own territory makes superficial linkers j«ap because they 6 1 a r e / , . . . . .

a rtf «o oorreotly oonditicnod to fight every idea that seems to divide the p i*. It looks, like apartheid. But of oeurse the guarantee of nattcnal

•MtoDooy In • people's dsaooPfcoy beers not the slightest reseablanoe to ^

j£ part held, Though the d tisane will have their oee national territory where

/their leaguege end culture rei^is supreme, they id 11 be free to go end live/ where they please, end where they ere e substantial group outside their own

J territory, there they too, will have language euad other rights.

41. But in their own national land* they will have every opportunityof developing the wealth of the oountry to their vm benefit end for the benefit at all* Suoh is for example the eeee in the national republics of the Soviet Union, which were backward and starring before ths revolution but now have flourishing national industries and miversltlee while students are able also to study at. the Moeoow university or at those of the other republics if they wish*

42s The enoovunag—lent of people's nati-cnallea is a great progressiveforoe. For the ability t* do this we must know more about the demands of our different national groups, and the desires which, though not yet expressed, will ring the strongest chords among the people.

41, 1 hope tho contributions this evening will help towards achieving this

olarity*

Seu m _ ^ K .(L . Porman.?

o+ the interpretatton Dr. bimons x must express surprise at the 1 41J flcult M c W se no

f c t t ^ h o " S y ^ ^ ’^ ' . ^ P ^ e i f . ^ t e m i n a t l m does M t !»fVj kn ova that the right to be confined to a

s s w r t s u w . * — ► ' .. ,

Sor does it imply r i ! U * r £ I o « ; I *o » M

s i ? r » r ^ f e * » « * « r * - d

then merge. vaclt« 3rd areas imply

nor does the f „ rated South African economicthat there will not be one fully in% g-

system. Of course there .a t • lar national group

In the different schools, theatres, news-

ha3 * ^ S e U authorities?^onducted In

I T l Z r s e , the rights backward areas backward, itFar from m e a n i n g that t i a wi t of great industries. -•

: ^ Pr . m « prooablyTo Of the people here. £ & right t0 ^

- I S S s l

m esr r : n ; ; m■ K a i n t r r « e- xssrS t a g e s . While it i?i P('rfectl.-itr;s to h,v| the opport^ity^to

S ; S 5 A S T ^ ^ ; - l d ,o t h a . the r if t

S 3tudyP in their cwa i - ^ e .

“6" I point that rsuat be clearly appreciated Is that discussion

of and analysis of the question whether or not there are in deed d if­ferent nations in South Africa, and support for the principle of Natinal self-determination dees net imply that this is an urgent immediate ia.ue facing us today. While I think that the time will surely come when it will be a correct nnd popular demand, and that there *iould be a full understanding of the is ues Involved, it would not be correct to put forward as a major demand the right to self-determination.The time w ill, however, cock-, when it does become an urgent demand.

' WHAT ARB _ THE NATIONAL GROUPS IN SOUTH AFRICA?

A contribution to the Symposium

by_________ K.A . Jordaan.________________

1 • The National Question: General Consideration?.

A ccording to the classical meaning of the term, the national question presents itself as the proplem of altering the relations one nation has with a forfeign nation. The one is the pppressor; the other is the oppressed; Jfche one is the hammer; the other is the anvil. The oppressed nation s » « n to alter this relationship with the opp­ressing nation ny its struggle for national independence and itsdemand for self-determination, that is, the right to separate state existence.

The Polish question of the nineteenth century is the clas 3- ical example of the nationalities problem. For more than a century the Poles lay under the heel of Russian absolutism as well as of German militarism. Thus, on the one hand, they were subjected to a rigorous policy of Rus3 ification*, and on the other., to a policy of Germanisation. These policies were a calculated attempt to staunp out these tra its and characteristics whereby the Poles justified themselves as a sep­arate national group with their separate interests, and ipso facto, their right to a separate state existence. To this end, xm therefore, the Polish language was not recognised; the chief posts in the Poli3h government were filled by members of the foreign nations and sucked dry* economically, culturally and polictally.

India furnishes.us with the second example of the national question. Because of the multi-national set-up in that country, there are two prongs to the national question: firstly , the polictical lib­eration of all the Indian national groups from Imperialism: and second­ly the tight of every Indian national gation&l group to complete cul­tural and political autonomy withing the the orbit of an independant India. This movement for autonomy by the Indian national groups is a very strong one because they had since time immemorial existed as dis­tinct cultural groupings. Their de3ire for a separate existence is t theirs as of historical right, like the Poles or Czechs.

Pour main conclusions can be drawn from theae two examples of the national question. Firstly ,' a homogeneous national movement develops strong centripetal forces whereat a hererogeneous national movement generates powerful centrifugal forces. Thus, on the one h hand, the movement for German unification led to the assimilation of ail the dls.iecta membra of the German nation under one central state, while, on the other hand, the di3emberment of the multo-national Auatro-Hung^rian Empire culminated in the formation of varioua^tates. Secondly, n&tional liberation inv-Ives the c.mbined movement of all classes arfu groups composing the oppressed nation. Thirdly, the national/struggle is primarily directs 1 at the overthrow of political and le^il discrimination between one nation and another. It does not necessarily involve a change in the economic structure of the nation, liberated. And finally , a suce sful national struggle, while it i^lans the liberation of the oppressed nation from the oppressing nation, does not necessarily imply the extension of full democracy to tiie constituent elements. To be sure, the polictical oppressionand Economic exploitation of one class by jiother or of one group by ^another can still continu, within the liberated nation itself.

What, then, are the differentia specifics of the national question in South Africa? How ".re we going to apply the classical slogan of "national independence and the right to self-determination" to our problem of national libex tion? There is no doubt that we are not dealing here with the problem of changing South Africa's Statute of Westuinietar 1931, the Status .and Seals Act, 1934, all gave South Africa its full political independence f*s a nation as well

as its right.to independent state existence.

Our n.tional question revolves around the question rather of the internal arrangements of the South African State. The form of this multi-national state must be distinguished from JJ,s contett.Within* the framework of this independent nation, fouiVfifths of the p eople are oppressed by other one-fifth. Concretely ppeakinjr, certT^n African, Indian and Coloured South Africans are o ppressed by British, Afrikaner and Jewish South Afric ns • Our national problem therefore presents itself as the str’ gg.e of four-fifths of the nation to °.lter their status under the state within that nation and to attin the same status enjoyed by one-fifth of that nation. This involves three things* the equalisation of political .and legal rights (the full franchise); the right to sell one's labour power in any field of economic activity (the abolition of the industrial ct^jur bar); and the right to buy and possess property in any area (the abolition of the reserves and so-called native territories, as well as the abolition of laws which restrict on the grounds of colour the right of buying and

se llin g .)

The South African national question therefore differs from the national movements in oth r countries in that it does not aim at establishing new and different relations with an outside nation or

people.

;v: |

-a-It aims at establishing new anot d£?ferent relations withiaa omtmxotc The South African nation itself. Secondly, our national question is unique also in this respcct, that the solution tg the national question is at one and the same time the solution to t>e (fuestkon of democracy.More concretely: our movement is national because it aims a t the over­throw of the oppression of peoples by other peoples within the same nation; our movement is democratic because the oveethrow of such opp- r ;< ression automatically leads to the extension of democratic rights poss­essed by one-fifth to four-fifths of the nation. Ours is , in short, a tr uly national democratic movement« i

In determining the character and the future of our national democratic struggle, one must beware of using as the point of depaature those artificial Herrenvolk racial divisions. It is unfortunately and indication of our political primitiveness that certain political groups and individuals can conceive of our struggle, our organisational forms and the future of Sout h African society only in terms of those racial categories foisted on us by Herrenvolkism. Thus there are people who conceive of our struggle as a purely African demand for land, as if the Africans would be satisfied with land alone. Others consider the demo­cratic struggle purely as a Non-European struggle. And there are some who are perpetuating the tradition of racial separatism by incorporating into their political organisational forms those racial divisions which Heri*envoa>kism is preserving in society at large. 0

Our movement is , on the contrary, a movement which embraces all those people who are opposed to the p resent system of national oppression and race discrimination. Our movement has a place for every person who subscrines to its programme. It follows therefore that there is a place for every South African in the society of the future.This must necessarily be so, because the movement does not only offer the oppressed peoples but the whole nation a soAutio n to the present- day problems facing the country. And in freeing the opp ressed peoples, the movement alos frees the whole of South African humanity. For no people oppressing other people can be free.

It muat notm however, be taken to mean that the national movement will make the slightest concession to white arrogance or c hauvinism. It emphatically asserts that in establishing a democratic republic the majority of the nation, the Africans, will clearly leave their imprint on the form the state is to assume. From the point of view of their numbers alone, it is indubitable that the Africans will

dominate the councils of the new nation.

3 . The Problem-of National Groups. |

What is a national group? It consists of people who, by virtue of their common racial, geographical or linguistic antecedents consider themselves or are considered to be a distinct or separate racial entity. In the light of this definitio , the fricans, the Coloureds,, the Indians and the Afrikaners can be regarded as national groupings. The question now arises 1 3hould we sponsor a movement for the complete sep aration of these national groups and their separate existence in their separate territories? Is there a demand for such a dismemberment of the South African nation?

Shere is no evedence that any national grouping is raising any demand for an existence separate and ap art from the r6st of South .. Africa. There is , moreover, no demand by any national group for the development of their own special culture. On the contrary, the members of every national groups feel and consider themselves to be an inex­tricable part of one nation, and they resist any attempt to divide them from the rest of South Africa. To be sure, if there is any moveat pre­

s e n t for cultural differentiation, tl-en it e»ai«±px*Ks emznates from the ruling classes themselves. The Nationalist-sponsoured Bantu educational system is a case in point. This system seeks to revivy iand to encourage those obsolete Bantu traits an d characteristics which v. ■ the relics and the reminders of the tribal past. Contrary to nny demand by the Africans, for example, the use of the ^antu culturf a

Hr * r a a c u w 'l n .chokla Is b«ing Bade co«pul.ory. * nd by .no<nu**in«

a peoulalr Ban< i culture and . atf&.of ..Ufr» the ruling classes are trying to justify their special treatment that Is, their inferior statu# in the Soyfxh African nation. The move for a Bantustan also cooes from the HereeqvOlk, though the Africans are implacably opposed to any fpecia 1 treatment or to any spec ial ho*e

■

/ It is reactionary from two pointa of view to advocate there^frudescense of an obsolete Bantu culture. It is reactionary becauseit* constitutes an attempt to unwind the historical film in reverse When the historic process Is tending to knit more cloaely every section of the South African nation to meet the needs of a modern industrial system- the fundamental pre-requlsits for the socialist reconstruction of any society. It Is reactionary because it means the aiding a nd abetting of HerrenvSlk schemes to differentiate between section of the nation in order to safeguard European interests.

There is no doubt that our problem of national groupings

differs from the nationalities question in India. The peculiar his­torical evolution of this sub-continent pre eluded the development of any distinctive culture by any national group. The industrial revolution in this country which began with the discovery of gold and diamonds gave the Africans no opportunity whatsoever of establishing on the smoking ruins of tribalism any peculiar culture of t'ieir own and of becoming a distinct national entitu. They had perforce to take a tremendous leap frdm tribalism to modem society, Jfcere certain aspects of the tribal past still exist, then these are assiduously preserved by the ruling classes and comnined with the most modem forms of exploitation and oppression.. This is the law of combined development. The Boers, also, were at no time able to evade the dynamics of capitalist development in this country. When they were

j»ble to establsih simple peasant republics, these were at all time3 dependent on British capitalism economically, and subjected to the corrosive and assimilative force? of that system. The Coloureds themselves are not a race or nation asp'rin'j to independent existenc e.

Having been p ^rt and parcel of the European people for over two centuries, they had their links with the white severed by the Union parliament and became a statutory category. In their mode of life they are Europeans and know of no other culture. Finally, the Indians are of such diverse racial antecendents that one cannot conceive of them as a cohesive and homogeneous group. A national grouping demands a separate national existence on the gounds of historical and cultural rights. In South Africa, no national group is making such a demand because no national group has any distinct

cultural or historical traditions.

Despite the attempts of the Herrenvolk to accentuate our differences, the democratic movement, on the contrary, exrhasises the similarities of the nationally oppressed groups. And these similarities are our common and indivisible oppression, our common interests and our common destiny, ^e emphasise the fict that we are ot only one nation n u u lz ia i ecobomically. We alos emphasise the fact that we are one nation psychologically, because w* think of ourselves,

we act and react like members of one nation.

It is quite possible that after the consummation of the demo­cratic struggle, a section of sections even of the bouth trican nation would ask for autonomy, even if only for cultural sutomomy. The thing cannot, be anticipated. Certainly we will grant any group this right to cultural autonomy or secession. But to raise this problem now when there is no demand for it , is to confuse the epilogue of the struggle with the prologue. We will give cognisance to these things if and when they do

arise.

-I10”i Pol at ion to Socially

£ ■ ,> . National rrrTt tR Rel ‘n q --------

E , ery national

capitalist dBOOcracy. . * M it la neoe38Bry to reiterate - cleerly

£ $ £ « ? L h^ » i » - n r ptioneoC n ^ U l8^ f alUe t ^ s « ^ i e s c o p e d . . national instruments

nothing lees; th« other argues

economic basis ofeconomic basis of eoc • + The Indian

l u t ue take two eM m plee^o elimination of British

national - " ^ “ . 'f a c t o r from the * • * ^ 2 ^ V . Unperiallmm as a » P fo-med to this «nd» t noted, temporarilybloc of three £ “ *” " ” $ a t . Each class, let “ “ t 'Q }oln m a peasantry and «h»prolet eoui iar economiclnterea th# opp.

liberated itself from its o«n P ^ t M political ^ « ” on in the eco- united front with other c .1 uestion of the radical alter ^ ^ cg|

ressed Indian not \ m d, indeed, C0“ ^ " ? L economic interestsnomic base of Ind classes with conflicting movement is notIt be tackled by a b l i c o i ci se00naiy, the national mo^ & r&d_

« 4 aspirations? In South « ^ rei ations. It £ « “ x0§ capitalist

22: ■w = ^ ~ ~ -

here that we have practical r e s u l t s * . practically probable,of the movement and the pr i i3 tinguishedffte the p

°theoretically possible must correctly, capitalis

, Our revolution is 0 l , « l y ^ | » ^ . g" to ^ T 6° £ “ -

iemocratlc, ^ iv e '''c o n s is t e n t ly 0baoIete inatritutiinsThe white capitalists have f ^ ntinv a g a i n s t Oheoie^ thifl

sumn^te their own rev ^ development of ,caP<? * again, South

which a rV tUld ev o l^ on ‘the Bon-tftiite b0^ X ° i n d i B Indonesia and China, task therefore <Jev0^ % v reSpect that, unlike In^ r ’ cance. ?or at every

Africa is sJ-nf ^ bourgeoi«ie of any nunerioal . ence of any large

& Ss s s ^ x s , r j s r w s “ ”classes. ine ^national struggle. ^ . Qf the capitalist

It seema to me that the

... olase is now being ^o u liere revollltion£. It tj» par- O j 0 traditic

is tvithing new in “V ita lism . 7to a J ; est , therefor*,the unoven developmeium(er capitalism. I t nou in a l movementin private ownership w w er t _t the hcad of th r;a ; / oroletarian

that the proletariat w i - ^ ^ ^ t i o a s of caP J ^ ’ * i 0rll movement will and proceed to aol* x More aoncret-ly ’ r c‘„ and the aspirations

methods of ol*JP ~ I ^ soivV the problem of d4® °% £ 0* * capitalis. Tw°’ fiitd it impossible -o ts within:*: the frastic ^ l i s a of the possession

* «£jr%sr & .3

f n u o n ^ o f l h e ^S 4 ? i « L ° y t h e S o « labour. • ; / : • % < ' £ . .

-11-atruggla

d«aoeratlq/will therefor* be uninterr jpted and permanent In

°* ■JralW for,“ inti political involution into a social revolution and rtcone trueting society oa socialist princlDles

will^reatly be facilitated,got only by the presenceof * eak and Ins ignlf leant bourgeoisie, but by a tottering capitalist

? ^ h U ^ a 8 0 S U - * * d m * S = o n . l i «

__%_HAT ARE THK NATIONAL GROUPS 1A aOuJH A^nlCAY"( rHOi o NGwfc'NYA)

Kr. Chairman and Friends,

* , , 1 bavepleasure In submitting thefollowing polntsfor discussion on thle subject, "what are the hiational Groups in South Africa?"

1. South A fr ic a ’ s population 16 composedof four racial a t o u d s : Africans, Coloureds, Indians andjiuropeans. Together these four racial groups constitute the oouth iifrlcan Nation.

f * Th* division of the South African population Into these racial S artificially perpetuated and natural absorption andassimilation arrested, by the economic, social, political and cultural interests of capitalism.

" hlteB have ocen elevated to a status of supremacy, and the Non-*.uropeans reduced to hewers of wood and drawers of water"A cunning pollc , of "d iv id e n d rule" has furt“ r a £ * r £ e n a p p J u d '

class ln or^cr to prevent unity and solidarity of theupprc 86CQ*

4. Racial differences manifest themeelves In ttrms of differences

d ?S .L Ur;Khalr' W XtUrC ’ nose shape, etc. T c o o m Lto these the oppressed are grouped Into the categorlesof coloured

hlatSrle anf " h l U * 1116 * a lE 0 differ In respect of their’historic origins, language, customs and traditions. Howaver thecommon oppre ce Ion the Non-£uropean races of the countrv " d u «over-rides and obliterates nationalistic sentiments vhlch m afieexpressed occasionally o«tng to race, possession of a c o l “language, customs and traditions.

whilst cultural groups hAVcdlscussed the future of certain Bantu languages and customs andthelr preservation, In not a single

i P<°Ple thrown thest up aspolitlcal demands.Jhlch can only mean that experience and Intuition are teaching the people that the struggle for national emancipation lies upon the plane of concerted political action agalnEt the ruling class.

tc h ° °7 n “arit,u» Coloured, Indian or^Whlte chauvinism sohave to reject efforts to organist the opprtsted upon the basis

of cultural demands regarding linguistic autonomy e tc ., etc,

5 . Furthermore, whatever differences of race, lanxua^e custom* and traditions tendto separate South Africans (fostered as th* a-

' the c° “ Pl*x web of relationships created by a unified economic system Into which everyone In our society Is drawn, whether as employer or labourer, white, black, Coloured or Indian, whittles away national or racial differences that exist.

■ Th^SSfi0? iiaB Place on all planes all the time,rhe off leal Inrwuagee of thecountry; tne culture, arts, crafts Indue trie s and lde as of the dominant white group, nrt being * aselmllated a U the tlmt, precisely because thepeople have to find

market! economy of the country, gain entry into the labour

for *2 1 ° ! * ! ? ’• thGP ureuU national autonomydifferent racial or linguistic groups, simply has no meaning.

•/ - ; ■ i -12- •

A national - cultural ea«relon 'o f the whAls population i£ takingplace out of this fluid Situation* It will inevitably end up inthe birtb of a democratic state in fcouth Africa.

7 . Ifce task confronting ua ie the* creation of a unified, national llbe ratory movement which will serve as the midwife in that process.

THOMAS NGw^NYa.

NVJlUN^Ijjrto Ift bOUTH AFnlO*.

Pa . H .J . blhOMb.

1 . Every political question ought to oe examined in tnc light of(a) the theoretical principle6 relevant to the problem and (b ; the epeclflc and hie torleal conditlons applying at the time and place under conelderation.

2. The "national problem" which we are dlscuetlng la, firstly , what ^re the "nations" or "National groups" in -outh afrlca and, secondly, and mainly, what is the correct attitude towards. them - corrcct, that l£ to saj , for'bouth Africans who wish to rcplace the existing system of exploitation by a fret and harmonious multi-racial eocle ty.

3. Out theory provides ut wltn a definition of "nation" that can be applied anywhere. It is an aggregate cr community of persons having a number of specific chr.racterlc.ticb In couuon: language, territory, economy, traditions, and ptychology. bome students would Include another attribute: the desire, realized or unfulfilled, for self-government.

4 . Leaving aside for the moment the question as to which groups In South africa fa ll within the scope of our definition, let us examine the standards by which wc ar*» to measure the values of nationalism ae a political force.

5 . at can do no better for thla purpose than look at the comparable experience of other countries where the relaCTd Issues nave come under scientific scrutiny by person:- loo«clngjfor a guide to the reconstruction of society on a rational basil.

MULTI-KATIOl .tL blWfEb OF £■ UtiOj?E .

6 . One important source of experience comes from the controversies over the multi-national empiret of *»ustrla-Hungarrf and Tsarist Russia, which had spread outward, absorbing border regions and their inhabitants and subjecting them to alien rule. The policy of the dominant classes In each empire was to hold it -together by force, resisting separatist movements and repressing the language and culture of the minority groups.

7 . The middle class liberals and working clae social democrats who struggled for the liberties of the oppressed nationalities developed two opposing viewpoints: the concept of cultural autonomy", and that cf "national self-determination.

&• The Austrian andRusslan social democrat* wr*; -*rged the former policy wanted equal recognition for the Slavs, Magyars, Czechs, Poles and other'"national" minorities, which were however, to remain within the framework of the multi-national Boclcty. Each 'nation" would have Ite own representatives in the central legislature (a form of 'bommunal" re presentation;, audits language would be given equal .status with any other in schools and o fficial circles. It would manage its own affairs as far as possible.

9 . These claims of -the “c^itural^awt^^ciyM school were really implied also In the "right bf atijf-tfa^rmination''; but the adherents

* / of- — - ........... — ......................

or io l i M a t muoh further In that they wltbed to eeourc totb€ riatlon ths legal and political right# to secede from the imperial• tate and e stabllsh I tec If In a s c p*ra t« - te rr 11 o*y *a~an. indapendoirt

state.

10. Although the theory emphasized ths discretionary nature of Mils rlaht, and the possibility of the nation preferring to remain within the empire • ( which It would do ae a result of free choice only If the advantagee of remaining In the empire clearly outweighed those ofee ceaelon,) the struggle for the recognition of the right Inevitably carried In Itself a threat of dissolution. The ruling cla6E there­fore resisted the claim. In the upshot it was established by means of mass support, Insurrection and war, out of which emerged the national 6tates of eastern and central Europe. t

COLONLiL RiTIOiUx, MOVEMENTS.

11. Before considering the lessons to be drawn from the European experience, we might turn out attention to another type of nationalism which developed during the coursc of this century In Asia and Africa under the domination of European Imperialist 6tates.

12. The conditions shaping the national movements In Asia and Africa differed from those operating In Europe In the following respects*

(a) the Imperialist state and the colony were situated In different continents; consequently conquest and domin­ation we re carried out by relatively small numbers of emigrants from Europe who became the ruling class In the

colonies;

(b) the colonial peoples differed from the Imperialists nd only In eulture but aleo In physical type, and the physical differences rather than the cultural becamc the

bafals for dlscrmlnatlon;

(o) culturesln the colonies were tribal and feudal, byt In any event pre-Industrial, and the effect of Imperial conquest wasto undermine and reshape the traditional

. culture in the process of exploiting resource a by modern techniques;

<d> contact between the Imperialist representatives and tho upper aoclal classes of the colonial peoples was slight and formal, In contrast to the Intimacy of the relation­ships between the upper classes of tne dominant and minority nationalities In the multi-national states of .

Europe.

13. Nationalism in the colonies bears the Imprint of these charac­teristics. It attaches less Importance to the recognition of language and culture than to the achievement of equal and democratic rlRhts; It works for the elimination of the gap In education,teohnlcal skill and living standards between thcpeoplt of the colony and the Inhabitants of more advanced countries; and It demands, not a separate territory for the national group, but eeIf-government and the right to secede from the empire.

14. These features result from the special geographical, cultural and ethnic ( I .e . racial) factors Involved in the type of explcita- tlon found In overseas colonies. We may conclude that the iuro- neans will not become a permanent oommunlty In the colonies as members of multi-national societies, though we shouldnot rule out theposslblllty of the colonies becoming f ’ 1 1 and autonomous partners with European states In a socialist oommc wealth.

IN bOUTH aFKIU

15. The special features Iff fcouth ,»frica. latlonallsms arise from the combination of"* i emperiallsm and Its p ndent colony In aeIngle political an geographical region. »e large, ptnaantnt^yestablished Europe* population attemptbto Instc the

?populatlon In topical colonial fashion, while the various national groups have intcractcd and fused In a manner olosely resembling the lntergratlon that takes place In multi-national societies such a developed in Europe.

16. Because of the colour bar on the one hand and the high degree of interaction between the national groups on the othcrband, the oppressed nationalities do not raiBe the demands characteristic of national movements in European history or in the oolonlea.

17. The do noti demand "cultural autonomy" or "self-determination" or secession.' In fact these concepts art regardedwith doubt ahd even hostility , because they resemble outwardly the "ideology" of the racialists who use them to mask and Justify racc oppression.

16. The African, Indian and Coloured people are not deceived by the Nationalist appeals to "respect and preserve their way of l i fe " , to develop along their own lin es", or "build a eeparate Bantustan" (this last proposal be lng varied In the case of the Indlane with the insolent demand that they return tc"their" own country.) The oppressed nationalities recognise In these formulae of apartheid a thinly-veiled attempt to perpetuate Non-European backwardness and inferiority for the purpose of an exploitative economy.

19• It Is the racialist in theEurcpcan ruling class who streseeB the peculiar features of "bantu" culture, urges the African to respect the ways of his forefather^", forces him through the Bantu

Education act Into a seperate education system, revises the tradi­tional rule of tribal chiefs under the Banty authorities «ct, and instructs hln that his national" home Is In the reserves, not In the 'European towns and c it ie s ."

20. weall know that Bluilar efforts are now being made to transform the Coloured people Into a "nation" by such meane aathe Group ..reas Act, Population registration *ct , Mixed Marriages act, a Coloured affairs Department and the rest of the segregation paraphanalla.

2 1 . our hatred of ajar the Id and the other varieties of racialism shouldnot blind usto the advantages of a genuine, healthy and dynamic nationalism. It is necessary, however, that we examine carefullv and even suspiciously any theory, no matter how woll-lntentloned, that savours even if only superficially, of the Nationalist formula':development along our own lines . That, certainly is not what the

movement for national liberation wants In any shape or form.

THE DEKaND FOR E>UaLITY., *

22. The national liberation movement demands QUALITY . and that demandis not the sane as the programme of "cultural autonomy" or *feecession. Equality dots not imply a withdrawal from or expul­sion of the European population. It contemplates a common society with the Europeans on a completely equal basis.

23. Equality means In the first place, equalty In law: the removal ° f ftll statutory and public foriiis of racial discrimination, in short, of the colour bar. This kind cf equality lsl^pllcit in the theory of the liberal' state, based on private ownership of the means of production, free competition and parliamentary democracy.

2 4 . Legal equality does not lt6clf eneurt social equality. . The latter can only come about through the elimination of the*taproot of inequality, namely private property. To. achieve actual equality the people will have to Introduce social ownership of the productive section of the economy.

25. The national liberation movements In Louth ufrlca limit their demands to the first kind of equality and must therefore be described as a form of inter-class nationalism which embraces both an exploiting and an exploited class.-j - :£V • ;• , i26. Thle kind of nationalism 16 progressive/as long as it opposes discrimination and oppressive pollclent, but the exploiting element

/ i s . . . . . . . .

I -14-

is always a sourcc of potential support for class discrimination,■ that la Inequality caused by private ownership of the instruments

of production.: *

27. a reoent case of the eaergencccf the exploiting clement In o&loaiAl nationalise oonesfroa ttaeOold Coast, where the Prime Minister, Dr. NkruaAh, associated hisgovernment and party with the attaok upon socialise. India and Indonesia provide other similar example s.

26.- Prediction is always temp ting, If dangerous. Ylsldlng to temptation, I should say that the influence of the exploiting element in the South African national liberation movementls likely to declient because of the effects of the colour bar, which Is Assigned to stifle the growth of the social classes above working olass level In the African, Indian andColoured communities.

•While the "middle class" grows very slowly or even declines, the number of urbanworkers grows rapidly because of the rise of industry. we nay therefore cxpect to find that the national acvenents acquire a definite working clase character.

MOKK OR Fj£wJ£H "N.iTIONb"?

2 9 . workers like other people want to use and develop their lang­uage andpreserve their customs. They therefore resent and resist restrictlonsbelng placca on their "national" culture.

30 . I think it is right to sav, however, thAtworkers are lees Involved emotionally in their ’national" culture than such persons ae teachere, ministers of religion, Journalists and writers, traders and professional people. The latter associate almose exclusively with their own people, also in business, and have a strong material as well as intellectual, Interest In cultivating pride In the national language and tradition. workers, on the other hand, mix at places of employment with members of other national groups, and tend to develop an "international" outlook bast-d on common class Interests.

31. For these reasons a national movement led by workers Is I c e s

likely than one led by exploiting elements to exaggerate the Impor­tance of purely "national1 Issues.

32. Personal experience leads ^e to belleva that African working mend and women of the kind active In th>- ^ .w .C . do not want to divide their people into "nations" acc-jrdinj, to language: Xncsa, Zulu, 'fswana, ootho, Pedl, Veno/i and so on. ( They put tht emphasis on the common factor: they arc a l l " a f r leans", vlctoms of the colour bar, and linked In a cotu-on struggle. They view with sus­picion efforts to encourage a "tribal" outlook and condemn them as a "divide and rule" device.

3 3 . I think they are right. Africans are tnasged In a gigantic task of nation-building under great dlfflcultlTs. Their whole attention 1 b concentrated on mastering the new! envlronmentof which they have becomc a part, and of adapting their traditional life pattern to these new circumstances. There Is u.uch In theold tribal culture thatls a handicap and burden. Their only hope lies in forging ahead to build a wider soclc ty'embracing all Africans of all tribal origins.

34. It Is the racialist who stresses the difference between people, who want6 to"pre se rve" chieftainship, "Native law" and "aantu tradi­tion". Does he do it in oricr to help the African, or to save his own privileges and power?

- pBJa CTIVES.

35. To conclude, I should say that the African, coloured and Indian people are not trying to drive the Europeans out of tne country, or to break away from a common society and form a separate, independent state, or to divide the population along racial lines into distinct "cultural communities."

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opportunities to n il M otion# «n« r*o««.

co“ uOn Inters«t» of a ll w r u n r.gardlcei of m o t .

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Collection Number: AD1812

RECORDS RELATING TO THE 'TREASON TRIAL' (REGINA vs F. ADAMS AND OTHERS ON CHARGE OF HIGH TREASON, ETC.), 1956 1961 TREASON TRIAL, 1956 1961

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